Tag - MVNO

In one interview given to an Indian television network, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the iPhone was "overpriced" in India, saying that he wanted consumers there to be be able to buy iPhones "at a price that looks like the US price." He also talked again about the desire to invest further in India, praising the talent the company wants to invest in. In the StartupFest interview that took place earlier today in Amsterdam, Cook shot down the idea of Apple creating its own "piggyback" carrier network for iPhone users.

Google's plans to offer a wireless service in the United States may have been uncovered earlier than planned. An examination of a recent firmware image of the Nexus 6 appears to suggest Google will offer a service where customers will only pay for the amount of services they use, with the potential service also being given a logo and a temporary name: Project Fi.

Google has confirmed plans to offer its own wireless service in the US market. The company will establish itself as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using existing carrier networks, according to a plan outlined by product chief Sundar Pichai today at Mobile World Congress. The company claims it does not aim to engage in direct competition with the big three US carriers, instead focusing on small-scale operations that provide flexibility to experiment with hardware and software.

New reports indicate that Sprint has dropped a previous requirement that resellers of its network -- FreedomPop, Straight Talk, Boost Mobile, Virgin, and some others -- wait more than a year before offering support for the latest models of Android and iOS devices. The change allows the mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) to immediately begin offering the current iPhone 6 line from Apple, the top-selling smartphone worldwide.

Ting, the MVNO from Tucows, has opened up its service to customers with Sprint handsets. The "Bring your Sprint Phone" program allows users on Sprint to use the service, with seven handsets from Sprint's range being supported by the carrier, which happens to use Sprint's network to function in the first place.

RadioShack may be launching a contract-less mobile service in the future. Leaked screenshots from the company received by Engadget allegedly show a product listing entitled "HTC One V No-Contract Phone for RadioShack Mobile" based on Cricket. If true, the move would see the electronics retailer becoming a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in an already crowded carrier marketplace.

Amazon will be the first foreign company to offer a prepaid wireless service in Japan. Nikkei [account required] reports prepaid SIM cards with 500MB preallocated to it will be sold for 1,980 Yen ($25) through the website, and as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), will be carried by NTT Docomo's LTE network. This takes place ahead of the expected Japanese launch of the Amazon Kindle in the summer.

An Apple patent application from 2006, recently disclosed by the US Patent and Trademark Office, suggests that Apple at least once contemplated letting users pick from multiple carriers on an iPhone. The current American iPhone is tethered by default to AT&T and affiliates, forcing users to hack it if they want to operate on a choice of networks; under the scheme described by the patent however, network addresses for multiple carriers could be stored on a mobile device, and selected as necessary for the purposes of roaming. This somewhat reflects the way iPhone users can now choose Wi-Fi hotspots.

MVNO carrier Helio has posted a net loss of $326 million for 2007, an official announcement reveals. Although the carrier's revenue grew to $171 million last year from $46 million in 2006, the company has also been facing mounting costs, such as an advertising budget that rose from $21.6 to $47.5 million. Recent losses are notably out of proportion to those from 2006, which were only $192 million.

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Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit

Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj

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Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket

The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]

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Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera

Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94

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Apple employees testing wheelchair features

New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa

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SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards

SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If

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Apple's third-quarter results due July 26

Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm

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Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users

Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE